Toyota Buying Back 1995-2000 Toyota Tacomas for 150% of Their Value

[snopes]

Comment: This is the first time I've heard of this. There have many cases
of repairs/warranties that aren't made public, so maybe some form of it is
true. I didn't see it listed on your site. Is it true?

http://www.thegmsource.com/index.php..._articleid=915

Apparently the Tacoma is so bad that Toyota is taking a rubber mallet to any and all 1995-2000 Tacomas' frames. If the mallet goes through the frame, the owner is put in a rental car immediately, their Tacoma is taken from them and they are given a check in the amount of up to 150% of the vehicle's actual worth.

[snopes]

I received an offer from Toyota that indicated that some things that seem too good to be true are actually true.

Toyota has offered me $11,332 for a truck I bought for $4,100. According to the letter, Toyota will have a check for me within 7-10 days.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pb...53/1003/NEWS02

[kanazawa]

Originally Posted by snopes

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pb...53/1003/NEWS02

I guess you could give NUMMI a call and ask...

http://www.nummi.com/contacting.php

Yep, Tacomas are made here in the San Francisco (east) bay area....

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

This is dear to my heart since I drive a 1999 Tacoma. However, Toyota recalls from automotive.com doesn't mention this. In fact I don't see any frame recalls newer than 1996.

I say legend.

Seaboe

[dfresh]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

This is dear to my heart since I drive a 1999 Tacoma. However, Toyota recalls from automotive.com doesn't mention this. In fact I don't see any frame recalls newer than 1996.

I say legend.

Seaboe

The New York Times says it is for real. They say that letters started going out to owners in March, and will take several months to all go out. So, you might be in luck.

I saw my brother Saturday, he told me the offer is 150% of the Kelly Blue Book "private sale, excellent condition" list. He has a 2000 Tacoma 4wd, they are giving him $13,500 for it with an additional $4000 off if he buys another Toyota. (For what it's worth, I bought a 2008 Tacoma 2wd in March for $19,000.)
I know this is close to a FOAF story but I totally believe him.

[Ali Infree]

From the New York Time article, Linky.

Looks like it may be the real deal.

Ali "with a Honda dammit" Infree

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

From the New York Time article, Linky.

Looks like it may be the real deal.

Real deal but not the big deal the earlier posts made it out to be. I doubt my truck is rusty enough to qualify. I don't even have rust on the dents I've put into it over the five years I've owned it.

I think I'm safe (and I don't want to get a new truck!)

Seaboe

[BoKu]

Originally Posted by kanazawa

...Yep, Tacomas are made here in the San Francisco (east) bay area....

Yup, I see racks of Tacoma frames on semi trucks on the 580 and 680 freeways all the time. It looks like they ship them into Port of Stockton and then truck them over the Altamont and Sunol grades into Fremont.

[kanazawa]

Originally Posted by BoKu

Yup, I see racks of Tacoma frames on semi trucks on the 580 and 680 freeways all the time. It looks like they ship them into Port of Stockton and then truck them over the Altamont and Sunol grades into Fremont.

Is there a port in Stockton? Looks pretty landlocked to me...at least from the freeway.

When I moved up here from San Diego in 2000, I used to see lots of semis on the 5 bringing up beds for the Tacoma from Long Beach. That's stopped, but here is who made them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TABC,_Inc.

[BoKu]

Originally Posted by kanazawa

Is there a port in Stockton? Looks pretty landlocked to me...at least from the freeway...

Absolutely:

The Port has berthing space for 17 vessels, 1.1 million square feet (102,000 sq. meters) of dockside transit sheds and shipside rail trackage, 7.7 million square feet (715,000 sq. meters) of warehousing for both dry bulk and general cargoes, including steel. Each warehouse is also served by rail.

Also, I was just guessing that the frames are being shipped in to Port of Stockton based on where I do and do not see the trucks. I was also guessing that they're not being manufactured in the US based on what I've read about NUMMI operations. But it turns out I'm apparently wrong about that.

This 1997 press release says that the frames are made at Dana's Parish Structural Products plant at Stockton:

The Stockton Plant, NUMMI and Toyota share daily process planning and problem solving is accomplished jointly. The three companies cross-train employees. Stockton keeps inventories at less than one day's production and has achieved 99.9 percent on-time delivery, while shipping five different types of truck frames to the Fremont plant 63 miles away.

Originally Posted by kanazawa

...When I moved up here from San Diego in 2000, I used to see lots of semis on the 5 bringing up beds for the Tacoma from Long Beach. That's stopped, but here is who made them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TABC,_Inc.

Darn, it looks like that article is missing.

Thanks, Bob K.

Yes.... This is true. However, it only applies for those trucks whose frames are SEVERELY rust damaged. Ordinary surface rust is not covered under this "Special Policy Adjustment". It also covers Tacomas for an extended time period.

I work for a Toyota dealer and have verified this. I have also received a letter from TMS (Toyota Motor Sales) explaining the SPA. However, I have no intention of giving up MY truck!

[kanazawa]

Originally Posted by bear68

Yes.... This is true. However, it only applies for those trucks whose frames are SEVERELY rust damaged. Ordinary surface rust is not covered under this "Special Policy Adjustment". It also covers Tacomas for an extended time period.

I work for a Toyota dealer and have verified this. I have also received a letter from TMS (Toyota Motor Sales) explaining the SPA. However, I have no intention of giving up MY truck!

Any idea what they are going to do with the ones they buy back? Will they get crushed (rather than parted out or resold from the junkyard with a salvage title).

And wouldn't it be cheaper just to replace the frame?

[BoKu]

Originally Posted by kanazawa

...And wouldn't it be cheaper just to replace the frame?

No, definitely not. That was addressed by a Toyota tech on one of the Edmunds automotive fora threads on the Tacoma frame issue. He likened it to changing out your skeleton while leaving all your other innards intact.

I mean, it's definitely doable, but its a hassle and I don't think it could be done in less than about 100 hours of shop time. And you'd have to quote it at about 125 hours to cover the troublesome cases and the learning curve. And there'd be all sorts of little clips and hoses that would have to be replaced.

The accounting would start to look something like this:

Shop time 125@$65ea (discounted from $85) $10,625
Replacement frame 3,500
Misc consumables and replacement parts 500
Total $14,625

That's just a ballpark guess at the numbers, I know that they're probably at least 5% off. But I'd bet a few bucks that I'm in the +/- 15% ballpark.

Anyhow, having done all that work, there would inevitably be lots of customer complaints about wiring and plumbing and mechanical faults that crept into the process. And since they have to open up the braking system in order to move it over to the new frame, they're on the hook for all sorts of liability if the brakes fail after the change. At that point, the 150% bluebook starts looking good all around, and the Toyota dealers know that if they handle it right they stand a good chance of having the Tacoma owner hand it back over for a new truck.

Bear in mind also that the only trucks this applies to are ones with severe rust. That rust will be everywhere. Every bolt, nut, brake line, control arms, springs, axles, mounts, and so on and so forth.... As for the flat rate time for replacing a frame.... I would estimate it as being closer to 40-50 hours, perhaps less under warranty. Toyota's (and I would guess most manufacturers) warranty times are notoriously low. In most cases, it takes a very experianced tech to be able to break even. That is to finish the job in the amount of time he will be paid for. Throw in a broken bolt or two and even the best techs start losing money. (For those who don't know, almost all auto techs are paid flat rate. If the flat rate manual pays 2 hours for a particular job, you are paid 2 hours whether the actual job takes 1 or 3 hours to complete. Most experianced techs can earn more hours than they work, but sometimes even the best wind up in negative numbers. And if a tech doesn't do the job properly, he fixes it without additional pay. This is to encourage him to work quickly and accurately.)